Can chronic urticaria be cured as soon as possible? Chronic urticaria has a complex etiology and is prone to recurrent attacks, making it more difficult to cure in the short term. The aim of chronic urticaria treatment is not to eradicate the disease, but to reduce and control the symptoms. When is the best time to take the medicine? The time to give the medicine can be decided according to the time of the occurrence of the wind masses. If there are more wind masses in the morning, a larger dose should be given before going to bed; if there are more wind masses when going to bed, a larger dose should be given after dinner. After the wind masses are controlled, the medication can be continued for several months and the dose can be gradually reduced. Why is maintenance therapy necessary? Maintenance therapy is the key to reducing relapse after discontinuation of medication. The theory is that antihistamines can act as counter agonists to permanently affect the activation state of histamine. The introduction of agonist and counter agonist theories into the explanation of the pharmacological effects of antihistamines has some practical significance, especially since the use of antihistamines for the treatment of chronic urticaria requires further maintenance therapy for a period of time after complete control of symptoms to further reduce the histamine receptor activation state and prevent recurrence of the disease due to immediate discontinuation of the drug. The safety of second-generation antihistamines can be guaranteed, and the adverse effects on the body can be tolerated with long-term use. How long does maintenance therapy take? As a rule of thumb, conventional treatment takes 3 to 6 months in most patients. In individuals with prolonged manifestations of urticaria or with angioedema, treatment should last 6 to 12 months, with gradual tapering and maintenance for a few weeks before discontinuing the drug. What medications are chosen for physical urticaria? For artificial urticaria, cold urticaria, and cholinergic urticaria, ketoprofen and cyproheptadine are the treatment of choice. For sunlight urticaria, hydroxychloroquine is the treatment of choice. How to distinguish chronic urticaria from acute urticaria? Some patients with chronic urticaria do not have to wait more than 6 weeks for symptoms to be diagnosed. In general, patients with a slow onset, a small number of lesions and an unknown cause are mostly in the early stages of chronic urticaria. The true acute urticaria has a clear cause, such as infection, medication, food, etc., and has heavy symptoms that are self-limiting, i.e., it can recover 2 to 3 weeks after stopping medication. What is the relationship between chronic urticaria and angioedema? Patients with chronic urticaria combined with angioedema often have more severe symptoms, have a greater impact on their lives, and have a poorer response to treatment. The natural course of the disease is one to five times longer than in patients with simple urticaria, and 50% of patients have the disease for more than five years. How to treat during pregnancy and breastfeeding? In principle, antihistamines should be avoided during pregnancy. If you do use them, inform that there are no absolutely safe drugs available. Loratadine and chlorpheniramine are available. Most antihistamines can be secreted into breast milk. In comparison, cetirizine, loratadine, and desloratadine are secreted at low levels in breast milk, and these drugs are recommended for nursing women. And try to use lower doses. Chlorpheniramine can reduce appetite and cause adverse effects such as drowsiness in infants and should be avoided. How is urticaria treated in children? The first-line choice for the treatment of urticaria in children remains second-generation antihistamines. Most prescriptions prescribe their use beyond the age of 1 year. Desloratadine and fexofenadine can be used in children over 6 months of age.